Archives

World Asthma Day: No Obesity, Lower Asthma Risk

¨It is time to control asthma¨ is this year´s slogan. Now you can fight back asthma by controlling what goes into your mouth.

Worldwide, people are now celebrating the World Asthma Day. According to the website WebMd, asthma has risen in the United States during the past three decades. In 2012, almost 19 million adults and over 7 million children had asthma. This means that almost 1 in 12 people suffer from asthma in the US and about 1 in 2 people with asthma had an asthma attack in 2008, which the majority could have been prevented. For this reason, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) has created this global day to increase awareness about this chronic inflammatory disease and provide resources on how to control it.

If you or your loved ones suffer from asthma, there are simple changes you or the people you love can do to control it. One of them is controlling what you eat. Here we provide you the answers to some questions you might have about this:

What causes asthma?

There is not a one word answer about what causes asthma. Some of the things that trigger asthma are allergies, tobacco smoke, air pollution and noxious fumes, cold temperatures and high humidity, obesity, and stress. It is also possible that some genes are linked to asthma.

How can I prevent it?

One way to do this is by following a healthy diet. Obesity is associated with asthma, so you need to control your weight and eat healthy.

What´s considered a healthy diet?

There´s evidence that people who eat diets higher in vitamins C and E, betacarotene, flavonoids, magnesium, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids have lower rates of asthma. Also, researchers have found that people who follow the Mediterranean diet -which is high in nuts and fruits like grapes, apples, and tomatoes- were less likely to have asthma symptoms.